The present invention relates to a computer mainframe, and more particularly to a miniaturized computer mainframe having a vertically superposed architecture and accordingly a largely reduced volume.
In this quickly developed information age, electronic data processing has become a common thing forming part of people""s life. Meanwhile, the result of processing data electronically has completely changed the traditional manner of data storage. More specifically, the storing media for electronic data has been constantly reduced in volume in the process of miniaturization thereof.
The forms of storing or recording media for data have largely changed from paper to microfilms, hard disks, various kinds of floppy disks, compact disks, etc. to reduce the volume of storing medium by thousands or even tens of thousands of times. However, there is not any apparent development in the miniaturization of apparatus for electronic data processing. Taking the mainframe for a desktop personal computer as an example, its overall volume is almost not reduced by any degree in the last ten years. The development of a notebook computer only reduces an overall volume of a desktop computer by several times, which is largely lagging behind the miniaturization of the storing (recording) media. For most personal computer users, it is doubtlessly desirable if a computer system having a largely reduced mainframe could be developed to minimize unnecessary waste of working space by a large-size mainframe.
Most of the currently commercially available computer mainframes have a large volume mainly because they have radiating element and motherboard with large volume, use power supplier and floppy disk drive, have improperly arranged components, and use flat cables for wiring thereof. The improperly arranged components and the flat cables usually unnecessarily occupy the most part of space in the mainframe. The space for the flat cables to connect the motherboard to compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), hard disk, CD-recordable (CD-R), power supplier, floppy disk drive, etc. even exceeds an overall volume of the motherboard, CD-ROM, hard disk, etc. This is the main reason for a computer mainframe to have a large volume.
One of many ways to minimize the use of flat cables is to use small-size motherboard and externally connected transformer to reduce the space needed by the flat cables and shorten the distances between all components arranged in the mainframe. In this manner, the volume of the mainframe could be doubtlessly largely reduced.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a miniaturized motherboard on which different parts and components are arranged in a manner, such as being vertically superposed on one another, to most effectively reduce the space necessary for these parts and components and thereby enable omission of the flat cables to avoid unnecessary waste of space in the computer mainframe.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a computer mainframe having vertically superposed architecture to largely reduce an overall volume thereof and therefore enables miniaturization of the computer mainframe. To achieve the above and other objects, the computer mainframe of the present invention mainly includes:
a housing provided at predetermined positions with at least one CD-ROM gate and a plurality of openings;
a motherboard disposed in the housing and having first and second connecting terminals spaced thereon for connecting to a hard disk and a CD-ROM, respectively;
an intermediate circuit board adapted to superpose on the motherboard with the hard disk connected to a lower side and the CD-ROM to an upper side of the intermediate circuit board; the intermediate circuit board being provided at the lower side with third and fourth connecting terminals for engaging with the first and the second connecting terminal, respectively, and a hard disk connecting terminal electrically connected to the third connecting terminal, and at the upper side with a CD-ROM connecting terminal electrically connected to the second connecting terminal; the hard disk connecting terminal being adapted to engage with a connecting terminal provided on the hard disk, and the CD-ROM connecting terminal being adapted to engage with a connecting terminal provided on the CD-ROM; and
a supporting bracket being superposed on the intermediate circuit board for firmly fixing the CD-ROM and the hard disk to the upper and the lower side, respectively, of the intermediate circuit board.
Wherein the intermediate circuit board and the supporting bracket are correspondingly provided on respective surfaces with a plurality of through holes, through which screws are extended into a plurality of standard threaded holes provided on a top surface of the hard disk, so as to firmly fasten the hard disk to the intermediate circuit board.
Moreover, the supporting bracket is provided at two lateral sides with two angled sideboards for fitly attaching to two lateral sides of the CD-ROM. The two sideboards of the supporting bracket are provided on respective surfaces with a plurality of through holes, through which screws are extended into a plurality of standard threaded holes provided at two lateral sides of the CD-ROM, so as to firmly fasten the CD-ROM to the supporting bracket and the intermediate circuit board.